Education & Career Development

CECAD promotion of young scientists and continuing professional education

In the competitive world of cutting-edge research, it is essential to have extremely well-educated scientists. Our highly qualified and motivated young research scientists contribute greatly to CECAD’s outstanding success. For this reason, CECAD actively supports and promotes up-and-coming young scientists at all stages of their careers, not only by continuing professional education but also by encouraging their scientific independence. The doctoral program of the Cologne Graduate School of Ageing Research lies at the very heart of CECAD’s program to support junior scientists in aging research.

The course ‘Model systems of Aging and Aging-related Diseases’ is intended for Master’s students of the University of Colgne, in order to gain first experience of the methods and techniques used in ageing research. Furthermore, individual bachelor- and master thesis can be conducted in the CECAD research groups.

The Cologne Graduate School of Ageing Research (CGA) is a joint venture of the partner institutions: CECAD, the Max Planck Institutes for Ageing Research and Metabolism and caesar in Bonn. The international and interdisciplinary doctoral program integrates the various fields of aging research. To this end, an attractive and strong research environment meets a rigorous training program.

Moreover, students pursuing a PhD in life sciences or postgraduates can extend their scientific training through a manifold offer of scientific seminar series organized by CECAD. CECAD also offers an extensive range of workshops and seminars, such as ‘Scientific writing’ and ‘Scientific poster design’ for additional scientific training. A PhD student and postdoc retreat and travel grants available for those wanting to attend international conferences foster both regional and international contact with other researchers.

Scientific autonomy and taking the first steps towards forming an independent research group are particularly encouraged by the special Postdoctoral Fellowships offered by CECAD to junior researchers of outstanding caliber.

Another of CECAD’s major goals is to support the junior research group leaders, by making sure that they have the necessary resources, mentoring, and in-house training - support that is made all the more effective by the optimal aging-research environment in Cologne. The competitive quality of CECAD’s young scientist promotion is reflected in the fact that professorships for three CECAD junior research groups have been established in Cologne in the past. The success of all the research groups can also be measured by the external funding they have attracted, including sponsorship from the Emmy Noether program and ERC grants, as well as scientific prizes and awards.